SAFE HAVEN: RISE OF THE RAMS

by Christopher Artinian

  Beth jumped down and ran her hands through her thick blonde hair in frustration. The truck was almost clear of the gateway, but the attached caravan had run straight into the stone gatepost. Joseph stopped and got out of the lead car to see what had happened. Mike and Lucy also dismounted and Lucy went to check on the caravan’s occupants. Mike headed straight for the road to make sure they were not joined by any unwanted visitors while Joseph and Beth dealt with getting the convoy moving again.

  Joseph took charge. Walking to the back of the truck, he unhitched the caravan coupling and unhooked the breakaway cable. He then wound down the jockey wheel and with the help of his daughter pushed the caravan back. Beth climbed into the truck and edged it clear of the gate and onto the road, while Joseph steered the caravan safely through the gateway and reattached it to the truck. Then, without hesitation, he went back to his car.

  Mike and Lucy climbed back on board and the convoy began to roll again.

  “It’s nice to see that things are going to run as smoothly as they usually do for us,” Mike said as he looked back towards the caravan.

  His body spun around as he heard the Land Rover engine revving noisily. A hundred metres in front were two RAMs, running towards the car like rhinos trying to face off with a jeep. Joseph maintained his direction and speed, and the two creatures launched into the air, limbs flailing as they flew. Each one landed in a broken heap at the side of the road. The truck jerked slightly as the first of the beasts was flattened further by the heavy wheels. Mike and Lucy both raised their eyebrows, surprised that Joseph had kept his nerve.

  The convoy slowed shortly afterwards and Mike noticed that Joseph had put his indicator on to signal the turn into the farm. Lucy picked up her shotgun and rested her arms on the roof of the cab, ready to fire if they were attacked. Mike jumped down and swung the gate open, all the while looking around for RAMs or people. Before he climbed back on, he opened the passenger door of the truck. “Beth, are you going to be okay, or do you want me to unhook the caravan?”

  “I should be fine this time, there’s plenty of room for the turn, but thanks anyway,” she replied, her strong arms already working the wheel as Mike closed the door and went to climb back on to the bed of the truck.

  The truck and caravan manoeuvred through the gate with ease and the other vehicles followed. The Land Rover stopped and Mike jumped down to close the gate behind them. Joseph had made it clear that his friends and neighbours may still be on these farms, and so their group was to do nothing that would risk the occupants’ safety.

  Mike leapt back on board and the vehicles began to move once again.

  “Y’know, this time last year, if I was riding around this beautiful countryside with the wind flowing through my hair, I would have been in heaven,” Lucy said, as she absorbed the view of golden fields and luscious green hedgerow.

  “So what’s spoiling it for you now?” Mike asked.

  The pair continued the ride in silence, their eyes scanning the landscape for any predatory presence and their hands gripping the cab of the truck to maintain balance.

  After a few miles, the lead car stopped again, but this time Joseph climbed out and signalled for Mike to join him. “Alright, out of this gate, we’re onto public roads. We’ve got just short of four miles before we can get back on to a farm track. The only thing is, Mike, there’s a small village to go through. There’s only a few houses, I’d say fifty people at the most, but I don’t really know what to expect, so I just wanted to give you the heads up.” Joseph’s voice was still a bit croaky, but the menthol gum had helped a little. Mike was so preoccupied with the journey that he didn’t notice.

  The farmer climbed back into the Land Rover and Mike checked left and right before opening the gate. The vehicles began to creep through one by one.

  “Joseph says we’ve got to go through a small village up ahead,” Mike said as Lucy pulled him back on to the truck.

  “Well, we were going to have to at some stage, I guess,” Lucy said, double-checking that the Browning was still in easy reach underneath the tarpaulin. They drove past a road sign: “Billington 1”. “At least we’re not guessing how far any more,” she said, drawing the Glock from the back of her jeans.

  Joseph put his hazard warning lights on as the first houses came into view, and Mike and Lucy stood to attention, taking in every detail, every movement.

  A row of quaint white cottages stood proudly on one side of the lane, their small neat front gardens bursting with colour, the floral aroma palpable in the warm morning air. Thatched roofs and leaded windows leant intimations of another time and another world. Lucy had her Glock ready. She felt a sense of guilt that such a beautiful setting would now have to be treated like anywhere else. Behind every wall, every hedge, up every small alleyway, the enemy could be waiting to pounce. It didn’t matter if it was a picturesque village or an urban slum, everywhere was the same now.

  The convoy passed the houses, disregarding the thirty miles per hour speed limit. Curtains twitched, but no-one and nothing came out to greet or confront them. Maybe the village had remained free of infection, maybe they had not succumbed to any raiding parties. Or maybe they’d dealt with their infected only to be robbed and brutalised by their fellow man, so now they just hid in their homes like terrified children, praying that the vehicles wouldn’t stop.

  Tracey placed the shotgun back on the floor. She had picked it up when she had seen the sign for the village, and she had held it firmly in her sweating hands hoping she would not have to use it. She let out a sigh of relief. Samantha noticeably loosened her tense shoulders and began to sob.

  “God, I hope this place is everything Joseph says it is,” Tracey said, lifting her hand in front of her to see it visibly shaking. When she didn’t get a response she turned to look towards her companion. “What’s wrong?”

  Samantha wiped the tears from her cheeks with the ball of her hand and sniffed. “I... I just don’t know how much more I can take... I’m not cut out for this...”

  “Not many people are.”

  “Some are,” Samantha said, looking towards the truck as it headed round a bend out of the village.

  “It’ll get easier when we get there,” Tracey said, extending her hand to Samantha’s shoulder.

  “You can’t really believe that. You can’t really believe that, Tracey. This is purgatory, and there’s only one way out.”

  Tracey withdrew her hand. “Don’t talk like that. You’re stronger than that. You’re better than that. People are depending on you.”

  Samantha sniffed again but said nothing.

  They left the village behind and headed into the quiet of the countryside, the peace punctuated only by the sound of the vehicles and the birds in the trees and hedgerows. It wasn’t long before the Land Rover slowed down to a stop and flicked on the left indicator. Mike jumped down and opened the gate. They were back on a farm track. He gratefully shut the sturdy steel barrier behind them, climbed back on board the truck and the small flotilla set sail once again.

  “This is going a hell of a lot smoother than I expected,” Mike said as the truck bounced up and down on the dry uneven dirt track.

  “You ever heard of tempting fate, Mikey?”

  Suddenly, Mike saw movement. Two 4x4 vehicles were speeding across the opposite side of the field. The engines revved louder as they picked up more speed, reached the corner of the field and started down on an intercept course.

  “Oh, shit!” Mike said as he reached for the shotgun, simultaneously banging on the roof of the truck. At first Beth was surprised by the loud noise, and then she saw the vehicles too. She flashed her lights on and off repeatedly to signal her father, who slowed down to a stop.

  Mike and Lucy headed straight to the caravan and got Alice and the children out and over the dry stone wall edging the track they were taking. Mike ran along to the other vehicles. He instructed E
mma to take the shotgun and go over the wall with Alice and the children, while the rest of the group took cover behind and underneath the truck and caravan, ready for a shoot-out.

  Lucy joined Mike on the ground underneath the truck. Her Glock was tucked into the back of her jeans. She was aiming the shotgun, and she had put a small handful of shells between them for easy reach.

  “So, Mikey, how smooth do you think it’s going now?”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The first black Range Rover came to a halt. All the doors opened simultaneously and four gun-wielding figures emerged. The second car stopped and five more figures appeared. All of them spread out, their weapons pointed towards the convoy.

  “We don’t want any trouble, but you need to get off this land now.” It was the voice of an older man with a strong Yorkshire accent.

  “Philip, is that you?” Joseph shouted, his voice less croaky now.

  “Who’s asking?”

  Joseph stood up from behind the front of the truck. He put his weapon on top of the bonnet and walked out with his hands raised. “Philip, it’s Joseph from Mead Hall Farm.”

  “Lower your weapons,” Philip shouted, as he walked towards the familiar face. The two men extended hands and shook firmly, and the parties on both sides relaxed and disarmed.

  “You’re one of the last people I expected to see here, Joseph. What gives?” Philip asked, still clutching his friend’s hand.

  “We’re heading to Candleton, to my brother’s place. We’re doing our best to avoid roads where we can. I’m sorry for the trespass, Philip, but it’s rough out there.” Joseph relinquished his grip.

  “Two groups have tried to attack us. Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of farmhands and they all know how to use a gun, so we’ve been able to repel them. We thought you... well, we didn’t know what you were doing, but we weren’t going to take any risks. One of my workers had a house in Billington. A gang attacked the village, took what they needed and left a number of them dead. He escaped up here with his family.” Philip paused and looked behind his old friend to the figures emerging from behind and underneath the stopped vehicles. “Where are your lot?” he asked, scanning the faces as the bodies emerged.

  Joseph looked down to the ground. “My two eldest lads didn’t make it. Neither did my son-in-law. Beth and Annie were kidnapped, but these people we’re travelling with saved them. They saved us.” Although his words suggested a huge level of gratefulness, his tired eyes spoke only of the pain as he looked back at his friend.

  A frown appeared across Philip’s large weather beaten face. “I’m so sorry, Joseph.”

  Mike and Lucy approached the two men. Introductions were made and not so much pleasantries as acknowledgements were exchanged. Joseph turned to his two travelling companions.

  “Philip has just been telling me that before all the trouble started they were due to start work on a National Trust visitor’s centre and trail about five miles north of here. There’s nothing on the map, but there are plenty of dirt tracks and makeshift roads where all the surveyors and planners have been sketching it out. He reckons we could take those dirt roads and it would bring us out roughly eight miles south of Candleton.” Joseph was enthusiastic as he reported his news. He turned back to Philip. “You’d be welcome to come with us.”

  Mike and Lucy didn’t react visibly, but their hearts sank as the words left Joseph’s mouth.

  “That’s very kind, Joseph, but this is my home and I’m not leaving it for anyone. We’ve got a good supply of food and fuel. We’ve got workers to harvest crops and defend the place. God willing, we’ll ride this out here, and maybe when things return to something a bit more like normal, we’ll pop up to Candleton and pay you a visit. We might trade some wheat for a bit of that bread and butter pudding your missus makes.” The pair cracked a smile as they recalled happier days, and Philip extended his hand once more. “The very best of luck to you, Joseph, to all of you,” he said, looking towards Lucy and Mike as he spoke.

  “Thank you, Philip. May God go with you,” Joseph replied before letting go of his friend’s hand and walking back to the Land Rover.

  *

  Just as Philip had described, there was a road sign stating “Heavy plant crossing” and a few metres after it, a right turn into a tarmac car park with several Portakabins and a small array of abandoned machines. Between the two temporary buildings at the end of the tarmac was the start of a wide gravel road rising into the distance. Joseph headed towards it and hit the trail with a satisfying scrape and clunk. Small stones flicked up and clattered against the chassis. Every minute he travelled he was getting closer to his brother, getting his family closer to safety. It was good fortune to have run into his old friend, and this shortcut would not only save them time but also reduce the risks of them being attacked.

  The road rose higher into the beautiful green hillside. Occasionally one of the vehicles would skid a little where a small section of track crumbled away, but it didn’t matter; they were not planning on retracing their steps. This was a one-way journey.

  Mike looked across at Lucy who was trying to take in the view with her hands tucked underneath her armpits. She wasn’t shivering, but it wouldn’t be long before she was. He unzipped his coat, flicked it off his shoulders and hooked it over hers, taking her by surprise.

  “I’m not one to say I told you so,” he said, smiling.

  “No way, Mike, you need this more than me, you’ve only got a T-shirt.” Lucy began to take the coat off in protest, but Mike placed a firm hand over hers and shook his head.

  She gratefully accepted and zipped the coat up. Mike’s warmth, still present in the coat’s lining, quickly heated the blood in her veins. She grabbed the back of the cab tightly, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a gentleman, Mike. There weren’t too many of them around even before this happened. Your mom and dad would be proud of how you turned out.” Lucy smiled as she looked across at her companion and placed her hand over his as they both held onto the cab.

  “My real dad was a wife-abusing, child-beating chronic alcoholic who cared for no-one but himself. He would never have given a damn how I turned out. But Alex, my stepdad, he was a good man, one of the greats. If he thought for a second I was standing with a coat on my back while there was a lady next to me shivering, I’d have got a friendly clout round my ear and he’d have taken my jacket off for me, just so I remembered what to do the next time.” Mike allowed himself a small chuckle and Lucy joined in.

  “He sounds like a lovely guy,” Lucy said.

  “He was. If it wasn’t for Alex, I don’t know how I would have ended up. I got my temper from my real dad, I know that much, and if Alex hadn’t come along to keep me in check I think I could have been a very different person now.” Mike looked out towards the trees on the other side of the valley.

  Lucy rubbed her thumb gently over his hand. “I don’t think so, Mike. I think the good inside you would have come out, whoever raised you.” Their eyes met, and for a split second there was something there beyond friendship, beyond the shared experience of the last few days. The truck shuddered over another pothole and Lucy lost her footing. Mike swung his arm around her waist and caught her. Their faces froze in time, inches apart. Their eyes stole each other’s image and both held their breath, wondering what would come next, but then abruptly came to their senses. “Thanks,” she said, her cheeks beginning to flush.

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled and helped her regain full balance then resumed tight hold of the back of the cab.

  Joseph noticed an expansive turning point up ahead. He had drained the bottle of water in order to quell the itchiness in his throat, but now he was parched again and hungry, and thinking about it, he needed to pee too. This was a good place for a pit stop. He flicked on the indicator and the convoy slowly rolled to a halt in the siding.

  Everybody dismounted, grateful for
the respite. Lucy returned Mike’s jacket and went to the ambulance to find hers. Everyone else met up at the caravan and Alice put a large pan on the stove and emptied several cans of chicken soup into it.

  Boulders were scattered around the edges of the turning point, and as each of them was served their mug of soup along with a handful of dry crackers, they dispersed to the various rocks to enjoy the food.

  “Wasn’t there enough soup for you, Mike?” Tracey asked, seeing that all he had to eat was the dry crackers.

  “My brother’s a vegetarian,” Sammy answered for him. “That means he doesn’t eat meat.”

  All the adults smiled at the young girl as she proudly explained to Tracey what a vegetarian was, genuinely believing she didn’t know.

  “So, Mike, what made you stop eating meat?” asked Tracey.

  “I just couldn’t justify it any more,” he replied matter-of-factly.

  “What do you mean, couldn’t justify it?” she replied.

  “Five years ago, Alex and I were coming back from London and we stopped to get a bite to eat at Watford Gap services. There was one of those huge animal transport trailers, you know, the ‘double-deckers’? We walked past it and saw that the sheep could barely move. They were bleating pitifully. The poor little things were terrified. They were in cruel, filthy, horrific conditions and were probably heading to the abattoir. I cursed the driver, the farmer and the owner of the slaughterhouse for allowing it. That night I couldn’t sleep, and it dawned on me that by continuing to eat meat I was just as responsible as they were. So I decided from that point on that I didn’t want their suffering on my conscience.”

  He took another bite of his cracker.

  “So, you think we’re terrible for drinking this chicken soup?” Tracey asked, earnestly.